Sole Server – Canada’s Footwear Marketplace

Canada seems to be late to the party on a lot of things; especially in the sneaker world. We didn’t get access to Nike’s online store until a couple years back. We get shafted on a lot of big sneaker releases – “Are they even coming to Canada” is echoed time and time again. And on that list, we never really had an online marketplace that catered specifically to Canadians…. Until Sole Server came around.

I was first introduced to Sole Server a couple of years ago at a Sole Exchange Canada event, and when they told me what they were planning I knew it’d be a tall task, but I also knew it was something Canada desperately needed. Now, they have grown a steady user base, and a very clean, streamline, easy-to-use website.

The idea behind the site is very simple; create a secondary online sneaker marketplace that is designed to be used solely by Canadians. Many of us grew up on NikeTalk and Sole Collector marketplace; but the hassle of having to convince our American neighbours to ship across the bored was insane. Sole Server sets out to be the Canadian alternative to these types of sites.

Other forms of marketplaces are great; Kijiji has been a go-to for me for the longest time. But having to sort though endless ads that are not sneakers trying to find things that I’m actually looking for is horribly annoying. Facebook groups are also blowing up as of late, but they are not easy to navigate or search through; and I’m so sick of seeing posts like “what’s resell gonna be like on the Zebras” in every sneaker Facebook group.

The main perks that I like about Sole Server after browsing through their interface is the usability, and also the fact that sellers not only have individual ads, they can also have full profiles. This way, a seller can create a mini online store of sorts, that allows them to compile all their ads together, allows potential buyers to view other users’ feedback, and also display a logo or banner if they have a brand or company of their own. It’s like eBay reviews meets a Facebook profile page meets a Kijiji ad.

One downside is that, as of now, there is no shipping option included on the site. Of course, you could always message a seller and arrange for that. But having a built-in option that has buyer/seller protection would be ideal. After speaking with the team, though, they told me that a feature like that is extremely possible, and may be added at a later date.

Overall, the concept behind the site is dope, and something that Canada truly needs. The people who started the site had the same inspiration that the Canada Got Sole team had when we started our tiny little Instagram hashtag – fill a void in the Canadian sneaker culture. We have a passion for this hobby, and we want to enrich a community in any way that we can. Big ups to the Sole Server team for reaching out, and please take a look at their site, sign up to be a member (it’s completely free), and start posting some stuff so I can buy it.